Rebecca Black’s Viral Takeover Through Humility

Does anyone remember “Friday?” It’s likely that it will become all the more familiar once you hear the few opening notes of the song that went viral two years ago. Since that time, Rebecca Black, who performed the song, seemed to stay relatively under the radar, which usually indicates the 15 minutes of fame cliché that’s easy to tie to any Internet fad. Fifteen might not be enough, though, as Black went viral once more; this time, it was through a surprising show of humility.

A few days ago, Black posted a new music video on her YouTube channel called “Saturday.” Very much tongue-in-cheek in relation to “Friday,” one can only describe this latest lyrical outing as a skit that Saturday Night Live would show if Black was the special guest. With a number of references to “Friday,” cereal bowl and all, it’s all but given that she’s making fun of herself, which was arguably the best route to go considering the backlash that “Friday” gave her. If you think that “Saturday” did anything but earn attention, you would be mistaken.

Since “Saturday” was posted, it gained over 12 million views, which should be worthy of note alone. However, the ratio between likes and dislikes is practically even, with the former just edging over the latter. Keep in mind that “Friday” was heavily disliked when it came to the surface back in 2011, meaning that “Saturday” may be looked at as more of an improvement in the eyes of the audience. It’s safe to assume that Black understood why so many people disliked “Friday,” so her next creation had to be something that was more self-deprecating.

It proved to be the best creative decision, as Black earned a number of comments that actually praised the video. While it goes without saying that there were those who lambasted “Saturday,” a good number of YouTubers spoke positively about not only the better lyrics but in how her singing improved. If you were to get the opinion of Long Island marketing experts, “Saturday” seems to be more of a platform that was designed to showcase the improvements on Black’s part while “Friday” was more of a grade school project not unlike a model volcano that failed to spew faux lava.

In fact, earlier this month, Black posted a video that showed her reaction while re-watching “Friday.” While she was visibly embarrassed at points, she wasn’t afraid to laugh at herself. The fact that she was able to do so indicates a greater level of humility than many Internet personalities lack. From a karmic standpoint, perhaps the viral nature of “Saturday” is well-deserved.

Rob Sutter is a writer & SEO specialist for fishbat, an online marketing firm located in Bohemia, NY. He graduated from Farmingdale State University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Professional Communications in addition to minoring in English Literature. Outside of writing, he is an avid gamer and professional wrestling fan.

One thought on “Rebecca Black’s Viral Takeover Through Humility”

When I clicked on the link to hear “Saturday”, I was obviously nervous. But I have to say, I was pretty impressed! I also agree, this was a great creative decision for her career. I remember the day fondly when “Friday” became viral at my university; I walked through the dorm buildings and from every window I could hear the song being blasted. That week, my entire Facebook and Twitter feed was full of “Friday” posts, bashing the song and Rebecca Black. This week has been a different story, however. While my timeline has not been as filled with Rebecca Black posts as it was when Friday came out, I have seen quite a few positive posts praising Black and her new efforts. Kudos to Rebecca, what she did took guts!